GROSSE ILE, Mich. – Coyotes are causing major problems for residents on Grosse Ile who said the animals are losing their fear of humans and eyeing family pets.
Residents said the coyotes have long watched from a safe distance, but they're losing their fear and finding pets too tempting to pass up. One family called Local 4 for help.
Yards on Grosse Ile can be spacious, and the neighboring woods even more so. There are 35 acres of woods, where coyotes can live.
Dorothy Giacomantonio said the neighborhood coyotes have been getting bolder lately, sunning themselves in her driveway and perhaps awaiting their chance to snatch up small dogs.
Her 8-year-old poodle, named Marley, was attacked recently and barely escaped with his life.
Marley is scarred up and has a drainage tube stitched to his side after the bold and hungry coyote attacked. Giacomantonio said there wasn't even a yelp as her dog disappeared.
"There was nothing," Giacomantonio said. "I think it surprised him as much as it did us. They picked him up and took him in the woods, so by the time we got over there, he was coming back out of the woods. He'd fought himself free."
Giacomantonio said it cost $2,000 to repair the muscles on Marley's back. The veterinarian told her the coyote nearly took his head off.
"We're so nervous right now," Giacomantonio said. "I have two grand babies who come and play in the yard, as you can see we maintain it, and they love playing out there, but not so much anymore."
Giacomantonio called Grosse Ile police for help.
"I think it's a problem now," she said. "It's not just a couple coyote. They are just multiplying, and more and more. We just need to get rid of them."
Giacomantonio said the police chief visited her home on Tuesday. She said she feels like a prisoner in her own backyard.
The city wants to begin a coyote-trapping program. The Police Department didn't return calls about what happens next.